Kirk Herbstreit calls for changes to college football postseason, championship system
Following another week of no change to the College Football Playoff selection committee’s top 4, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit is voicing his frustration with the current system.
In a recent media appearance, Herbstreit described the CFP as too predictable and repetitive.
“Our postseason is as bad as there is,” Herbstreit said Wednesday on the Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin Show via College Football Live. “And we have got to figure out a system that opens up opportunities. The season ends Jan. 12, I can already tell you 2021 Ohio State’s coming out of the Big Ten, Clemson’s coming out of the ACC, Alabama’s coming out of the SEC. I can say in 2023, Ohio State is coming out of the Big Ten, Clemson’s coming out of the ACC and Alabama,” Herbstreit said.
The GameDay host added that he thinks it is unfair to the rest of the FBS to enter the season seemingly out of the CFP picture.
“If that’s where we are is that right, is that healthy for the sport when 98 or 99 percent of the participants realize they don’t have a chance before the season starts?” Herbstreit added. “We’ve got to look at this 2020 year and realize that we have to tweak the system for the betterment of the sport. We’re at a fork in the road right now on a lot of levels and we’ve got to look at some potential changes.”
Many media members expressed similar frustrations for Group of 5 level teams, including Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina, after the Tuesday rankings reveal. It surprised many fans and media members that the committee ranked two-loss teams Iowa State (No. 6) and Florida (No. 7) above 8-0 Cincinnati (No. 8).
[H/T 247Sports]
Maybe that’s the silver lining to having a CFP committee as obtuse as the one we have this year. I don’t think the top 4 is much of a problem, but how they have 6-10 ranked right now is jacked up and truly indefensible.
It is also subject to great change in the next poll. They have a history of sitting back and letting it play out on the field before they make their decisions. They could decide to drop OSU, or raise Cincinnati, and drop UF to number 20 if they lose. People forget that the only poll that counts is the last one. The rest are just done for broadcast content and income for ESPN.
That’s what’s so obtuse about it. They’re treating these rankings like fluff. How in the world can they justify dropping FLA at all if they lose to the #1 team in the country on a neutral field after dropping them only 1 spot after losing to a bad 3-win team at home? It makes zero sense, and a big reason people have to constantly “guess” what the committee is going to do because they have no standard, they have no pattern of consistency, just weekly mood swings every week is just a new random. This is by far the most obtuse CFP Committee we’ve had yet and it might do the whole system in, which like I said if there’s a silver lining that just might be it. But I doubt it.
I see your point but people do not have to guess. They just have to wait. It is the people that do all the guessing and watching that cause the early polls to come out. Going to be tough to keep UF up there if they lose 2 in a row and have 3 losses. The simple fact is that all but the final poll is made for TV fun. they are basically meaning less. Remember when TCU and Baylor were in, until they weren’t?
The P-5 schools earn the money that the G-5 teams try to get. Let them to spend the resources to build the infrastructure and compete as a P-5 school. Until then take your weak schedules and 40,000 seat stadiums and shut up. As for the P-5 schools the reason most do not have a chance is that thy lose too many games. Win and you are in. It is pretty simple.
Win & you’re in . Simple
Not true at all. Cincy is undefeated. They aren’t in.
Reread it USMC. I am a no longer active duty Marine so I know Marines can read. I said that about P-5 teams. If Cincinnati wants to get in they can spend the money and build the infrastructure and play P-5 football.
How are they supposed to play P5 football without a P5 schedule. They have way better facilities than Vandy, but they still don’t have a shot. The system keeps them out of it. There is nothing a P5 can do to get in. The powers to be are very obvious that those teams will not be given a shot.
Expand your stadium, invest in your facilities and infrastructure, make yourself attractive for inclusion. You sound like a guy that is 6 feet tall and weighs 375 and wonders why he can’t get a hot chick. You have to first invest in yourself, before others will invest in you. If the G-5 was so popular and just as good as the P-5, then why is no network offering them $200-$300 million dollars a year for their broadcast rights? It is because too few people care or watch.
130 programs, 2 “not-really-play-off-games”. Media and some fans want decide something 2 games can’t decide. There’s a good reason we just called them bowl games for almost all of College Football’s history. Voting and sometimes having 3 or 4 different Champions by different voters was actually pretty good for college football. Every week-end put into a play-off series is a week-end a conference doesn’t have fully available. If this is college football, shouldn’t every athlete get to spend life as a college student, socialize, take difficult, or time-consuming classes, or study off-campus / abroad even ? The Div. II has a big play-off bracket. If you haven’t attended those games, then you’ve missed out on some fun. Before you wish for something however look at the whole thing. In a knock out bracket, half the teams stop playing football every week end. The season can be over for more than a month, and 90% of the nation already watching basketball, and a surging sport, NCAA Wrestling. Before a football Champion is decided. Can American attention spans handle this?
That’s is a nonsensical take. They are doing their best to compete. If they could get into a bigger conference, they would. The top of G5 is better than more than half of the P5 schools, yet all of the P5 schools have a better chance to make it.
The reason they can not get in is they do not have the ability to bring in the revenue. Cincinnati seats 40,000, Boise State about the same. Their facilities are at the same level, as is the money they spend on the program. Don’t go all these years not spending to make yourself an attractive addition and then whine because no one will let you in.
Yet we have Vandy at 40k and multiple schools in the 60’s.
Yet Vandy is a charter member of the conference and would never be allowed to join at this point.
Yeah that Vandy comparison keeps missing the mark. Vandy was apart of the conference from the beginning, when Tulane and Ga Tech were here, before Football was the machine it is now.
I think your point would have been stronger with a comparison maybe of…TCU? Who was able to join a power 5 with a seating capacity of 50k and facilities who aren’t even close to other power 5 programs. But geographically, there’s nowhere for Cincy to go.
That’s kind of the point. Vandy is a charter member from decades ago and have to do nothing going forward. The other guys do way more for no chance at all. Cincy, UCF, and Boise invest way more in their programs with far less resources.
@jay.cardea exactly the point I made below. Do you know why TCU was asked into that conference? Because the lawmakers in the State of Texas said if TCU and Baylor were not, they would not allow Texas and Texas A&M to go. That is what got them in.
LSUSMC you are the first socialist Marine I have ever seen.
And you’re nuts. I’m for fairness. You’re for entitlement. I’ve always been a moderate Republican and have never voted for a democrat in my life. I’m just not a nutjob conservative.
Actually you are the one making the point that teams that have not invested the time, effort, and resources, are entitled to play for something they did not build nor earn. to say that they deserve that which they have not earned, and that the people that earned it should help pay for their own competition to compete against them is a socialist point of view. Let them do it on their own. Nothing is stopping them. They can leave their conferences, and schedule 8-9 P-5 teams a year. But instead of betting on themselves, they would rather stay safe in their conferences and tell the P-5 that they must let them have a piece of the pie that they did not make.
There is a difference between a team and a program. The players and coaches give their all. If we are going to rank them, then they should be given a legitimate shot. Right now, they have no shot, so they need not be ranked at all. This is what’s known as a farce.
Silly take, like really silly.
Except the system keeps the G-5 schools from getting the money. Win and you’re in doesn’t work when teams are winning and still being left out on purpose. The best way for the G-5 Schools to get the money is big-time bowl games and move up to the P5 Conferences. Well no one is sending them invites to get the TV money and they aren’t making the playoffs no matter how many wins they get.
They could have years ago. They chose not to compete at the highest levels and now they regret that. Too bad. The P-5 built those bowls and bring in the most viewers and usually more fans. You don’t see networks paying G-5 conferences $300 million a year to televise their games. There is a reason for that. You folks need to read what is written and not what you wish to see.
You have to be invited to a conference. It isn’t these schools’ choice until they turn down an invite. Don’t see a whole lot of invites going out. Boise had a We will play anyone policy and after they beat Oklahoma they had a hard time getting P5 schools to play them. You are basing your argument on your beliefs, not facts. There is a clear bias to keep G5 schools in their place. You claim to be an advocate of WIN and you are IN then talk about all the things that should keep schools out of the playoffs. It is one or the other.
Korvyn: when Boise State was invited to join the Big 12 they turned them down.
@korvyn are you a socialist? If not why do you think the P-5 schools should help pay the bill for their competition? Do you think Home Depot and Lowes should help fund ACE Hardware so that ACE can try to grow to compete with them?
I don’t know your age, but I’ll tell you that a lot of these G-5 teams were in major conferences many years ago. They left them because they did not want to fund sports on that level. Tulane and Georgia Tech were in the SEC and left. GT was an independent for years and they have never recovered from leaving the SEC. The ACC finally picked them up because they needed another weak sister. Don’t you think GT and Tulane would love to have stayed? Vandy did and they are reaping the benefits.
There is nothing keeping these teams in the G-5. Each one of them can bet on themselves, they can go independent. Then they can schedule 8-9 P-5 teams, negotiate with someone to televise some games, and IF they are successful play in the CFPs. Instead they want to do the easy thing which is to stay in a G-5 conference and have the P-5 fund their programs. Sorry, not happening and if they push too hard then the P-5 will leave the NCAA and the G-5 will crash and burn.
You need to stop with the socialist nonsense. You sound ridiculous. And DarthA, when was Boise invited to the Big 12. I don’t recall an invite and I could find nothing anywhere saying that was true.
Boise was never invited to the B12..
You need to stop with the socialist mantra that those that have not earned have a right to what has been earned.
@BamaTime Boise State was invited to join the Bog East as a football only member when they were an automatic qualifier for the BCS. They turned it down. If they had not they could be a member of the ACC or another P-5 conference. They did not take that step and have whined since.
So like I said.. They were never invited to the B12..
Also it would have been stupid for BSU to join the Big East.
Strength of schedule has a lot to do with it. Is an undefeated team that didn’t play anyone in the top 25 better than 1 loss team that played 3 top 10 teams. The loss came against a top 10 team. I don’t think so.
Whose strength of schedule was stronger this year? Ohio State or Coastal Carolina? An argument can be made against OSU.
How are 98 to 99% left out before the season even starts ?
Why play the games then ?
Was this the case prior to the playoffs ? I don’t think so . You went from 2 teams playing for the ship to opening it up to 4 . That was a solution to the previous. Now you’re looking for another solution . This will never be satisfied obviously
You are right. There are too many teams, at too many levels of play. They need to break off the P-5, increase the teams to 16 each and tell the little guys to pound sand.
And then listen to #17 talk about how unfair it all is.
I did not state that well. I meant increase the number of teams in the P-5 conferences to 16. But even with that you would be correct.
I agree the G5 teams need to be part of it, or they need to break off and form their own system. I think the best G5 teams are good enough that people would watch them if they had their own playoff. I don’t think they could compete with the best P5 teams.
Thus why they do not DESERVE to be a part of it. No one deserves it. You earn it with wins against top competition. They do not wish to put in the resources to play in a major conference, or form one. Yet they wish to get a part of the pie that the others have baked.
Wins against top competition, not losses against top competition and weak competition like Florida.
UF will not be in it because of the losses, but they at least played 1/3 of their games against top 10 teams.
Wins matter, rewarding teams who lose to bad teams because they already had one loss to a good team like Florida just did is dumb.
Can you rewrite that in some form that makes sense? Thanks.
That’s a good idea. Then have the winner of the G5 championship play the winner of the P5. It’s worth a shot to try it for one season to see if it’s worth it.
Yeah I agree I really do.. Iowa State lost to Louisiana Lafayette a group of 5 team in the fun belt by 17 points at home but managed to be ranked number 6 ahead of undefeated coastal Carolina who beat that same team and undefeated cincy.. I’ll be honest I’d take both those teams over Iowa State right now in Aimes. I don’t think either those teams could even come closeto beating bama osu or clemson.. I do think they have a chance against Notre Dame , tamu, Florida tho.. Expand the playoff and atleast give them a chance to do the unthinkable.. Y’all remember Boise State in 09 ? They coulda beat anybody that year including my beloved bama team .. I was happy we missed them that year bc they really scared me.. For years they were playing powerhouse power 5 teams and winning those games.. They were really legit and if we had a playoff back then they woulda been in it .. More than once too.. Expand the playoff atleast to 6 and give some other teams a chance to atleast play for a title.. Even if they never win which they probably won’t but college football needs to quit being a beauty pageant every year
Boise state would play one P-5 game a year, usually the first game then feast on subpar competition. One or two games a season against the top of the heap is not the same as playing that level 9-10 games a year. Cincinnati and CC could not beat ND, UF, or TAMU. They are not deep enough or good enough.
Yeah but they won those games.. That was their super bowl.. They were good they beat every team they played in power 5.. Now do I think they’d go thru the sec undefeated ? No bc they didn’t have the depth but 3 games in a playoff yeah I think they could pull it off if the pieces fell into place for them.. And yeah say what you will but I think coastal Carolina and Cincy could play with tamu and Notre Dame.. I really do.. Notre Dame is good but they’re about to get embarrassed this week.. They’re not great.. Even if they still squeak into the playoffs like it’s predicted they will they’ll get destroyed again by bama right after clempson has their way with them.. Remember you heard it here first.. Clemson will beat them by atleast 17 and bama will beat them by 30
That is the point. One game does not a season make. ND has already beaten Clemson once. I don’t want to hear about Lawrence not playing. The back up did as well as Lawrence could have done, check his stat line. If Clemson rushes for 30 yards again in this game they will get beaten again. Though I think Clemson wins, it is not going to be a cake walk.
Maybe diarhea mouth wants chickens$hit Vandy in.
Ever since they started with switching to 4 teams I’ve always wanted either an 8 team play off or a 10 with top teams getting a bye week. With that you get the p5 that belong to try for the natty. I like the 16 but then you have to limit regular season games which kinda sucks.
I’d love to see eight in and a first-round game between Cincinnati and Clemson. Bring it on. Kirk’s right. If the Tigers can’t beat them, they don’t deserve to win it all.
Maybe the other teams need to get better. I guess it’s easier to expand the field than be 1 of the best 4 teams.
It would change nothing. People would still be whining about someone that didn’t get in. They allow 68 teams in the NCAA basketball tournament, yet there is always wailing and gnashing of teeth over someone that got left out. These kids play a season that is one short of an NFL season. 4 teams is enough. If you’re not undefeated then it is your own fault that you are not in.
While I certainly agree with that line of thinking (this year UGA fans, sitting at nine, would be screaming they are better than Iowa State), CFB does have a problem with the haves/have nots scenario. Interest, followed by money, is surely going to decrease.
The real issue isn’t with the G5 teams it is the lack of competition in 4 of the 5 P5 conferences. The PAC 12 doesn’t have any team that is elite, and the Big 10 and ACC only have 1 each. Unless someone can start to challenge Clemson or Ohio State from their conferences you have half of the field already set before the season starts. When you consider that the SEC champ is always getting in you really only have 1 spot open.
When you look at it that way I don’t think there is any type of gap between the Big 12 champ, PAC 12 champ, and the best team from the G5. Do you honestly think Iowa St or USC are that much better than Cincy? I don’t.
I don’t either man.. I’d take cincy in all those games except maybe against Oklahoma .. Still they’d play them close too
If cincy played clempson s schedule this year they’d have thesame record at the worst or better yet be unblemished bc I don’t think Notre Dame is a great team either
Don’t release the rankings until all games are played.
There needs to be another split… Split the Power 5 and G5 and let each have their own playoff…
There is to much disparity in the FBS. These programs aren’t close.
BT, i don’t usually agree with your post’s but that one makes the most sense. Seems like Clempson and OSU get a free entry ticket every year and play nobody. It’s not they aren’t good programs but the cakewalk to the playoff doesn’t compare to the drain of an SEC schedule.
How would splitting into two championships eliminate your issue with Clemson/OSU?
Thats two seperate issues all in one post. I was replying to anothers post and then adding to another issue (my opinion only).
How about a relegation system like they have in European soccer?
Every year, Top G5 teams win, move up to P5 the next year. Bottom P5 teams relegated to G5. Would probably want more than 2 divisions but basically that’s how it’d work.
Because of money, facilities, logistics, scheduling……